Part 4 · 4 illustrated lessons
Understand how feelings and current needs can shape perceived value. Connect credible human outcomes with autonomy, capability and belonging.
Feelings can influence judgments about significance, value and risk. Marketing can connect a functional benefit with a credible human outcome, helping someone understand why the product matters in their life rather than merely listing its specifications.
Joy, surprise, fear, sadness, anger and disgust provide a practical vocabulary for discussing emotional responses. Different feelings may affect attention and action differently, so a campaign should choose an appropriate emotional direction for its actual objective and audience.
People can seek different kinds of value from the same offering, including access, reassurance, belonging, recognition and growth. Maslow’s hierarchy offers a familiar way to discuss those needs, provided it is treated as a heuristic rather than a rigid universal ladder.
Autonomy, competence and relatedness offer a useful lens on experiences that support motivation. Customers may engage more willingly when they can choose, understand what they are doing and feel appropriately connected to other people.